AUTO ISO on the D700

I have added an article on this subject to the D700 page here.

Summer's Gone!

While taking advantage of the late summer/early autumn weather we went walking along the Brecon and monmouthshire Canal just outside of Brecon starting at Brynich. After crossing the Aqueduct it is possible to get to the river to take this view. 
Click to see larger image - use magnifying glass to view max res.

 Brynich Aqueduct: 16-35mm f4 lens at 16mm; f5.6 @ 1/320; ISO 200

Viewing Your Images on Your LCD TV

Your LCD TV is a great tool for showing off your work to friends and family but there are a variety of options to produce the end result. So which is best/easiest?

 

Bottom of the list is the DVD route. Using software such as Pictures to EXE (PTE) or Pro Show Gold (PSG) it is possible to create a (standard) DVD which will show your images with sophisticated animations and transitions when played through a standard DVD Player connected to the TV. The downside of this method is that all of your images are (firstly) downsized to 720x576 to suit the PAL system resolution and (secondly) interpolated back up to the screen resolution of your TV for showing. That is a double whammy in terms of quality and is not recommended unless ALL other avenues have been dismissed.

Next best, in terms of quality, is connecting a computer (preferably a laptop) to your TV and showing your images (PTE or PSG) at a suitable resolution for your TV – 1920x1080 at best. In this scenario there are two levels of quality depending on the capabilities of your TV and/or laptop. If your laptop is not completely up to date it is likely that your only means of connection is via a VGA connector cable – the (old fashioned) kind used to connect computers to monitors. Some TVs will only allow the connection at a reduced resolution and will not cater for full HD resolution. 

If, however, both Laptop and TV allow it the ultimate in quality can be achieved via an HDMI cable. The Laptop has to be set to output at 1920x1080 and, depending on your laptop monitor’s resolution, the TV becomes your MAIN monitor. You will not better this setup in terms of quality but there are now methods which will provide a much more CONVENIENT solution, without connecting cables, albeit at the expense of a slight drop in quality.

Newer TVs are now available with USB2 inputs and Media Players and this allows for the convenience of playing MPEG4 files created in PTE directly from a memory key with no wires etc as per the laptop/TV solution. A downside is that the H.264 MPEG4 files at 1920x1080 resolution are LARGE and a typical slide show of 15 minutes duration will be around 1 Gb file size. A large capacity memory key (around 16Gb) is advisable and will store a few hours of entertainment.

If the sophistication of PTE’s animations and transitions are not required the same TVs offer the facility to play suitably sized (1920x1080) JPEGs directly via the Media Player using basic dissolve transitions and slide change times. The quality using this method is second to none and music (MP3 Files) can also be played from the memory key to accompany the slide show. Repeat show and Random Slides are available making the use of the TV as a Digital Picture Frame (on steroids) a possibility.

Out Walking Last Weekend

Came across this lovely old bench just waiting to be photographed. Only had the 105 f2.8 VR with me which was ideal for the subject. f5.6 @ 1/400 ISO 200.  
Click to see larger image - use magnifying glass to view max res.

D200 Revisited

I decided to play around with a couple of D200 images from a few years ago and found that the B+W approach suited them very well. Both taken with the D200 and Sigma 10-20 Zoom.  
Click to see larger image - use magnifying glass to view max res. 

Above:Llantony Priory; Below Castle in Clouds Majorca

Nikkor 50mm f1.8

The Nikkor 50mm f1.8 standard lens take a bit of beating price/quality-wise. This was taken at f2.8 to give just a little more DOF than the maximum aperture allows. With this kind of informal portrait you take what you can get and put up with "distractions". Going for formal portraits with this subject would be a nightmare! Click to see larger image - use magnifying glass to view max res.

 

See Lenses

Brechfa

More 16-35mm f4 VR. 

Looking toward Brechfa Pool - 35mm - 1/250 @ f8 ISO400.

Click to see larger image - use magnifying glass to view max res.

 

See Lenses 

Lenses

Started a NEW PAGE on Nikkor Lenses in my bag starting with the 16-35mm f4 VR Nikkor.

Posting a picture

This image was taken on my D700 with 16-35mm Nikkor Zoom on a recent Balloon Trip on Alan's 60th Birthday. Thanks to Alan for asking me along.

Click to see full size - use magnifying glass to see max res.

Beginning!

I'm new to this so this will be a test of what I can and can't do.

I'm going to try to write a little regularly on Nikon Equipment and Nikon Software - NX2.